Rescue mission under way as articulated truck plunges down steep embankment on N4 bypass
Emergency crews are racing against the clock after an articulated truck veered off the road near Riverside Park (N4 bypass), plunging down a steep embankment.
A dramatic accident occurred earlier today when an articulated truck plunged down a steep embankment, after ploughing through a barrier and descending into the dense terrain below.
Rescue teams are now in a race against time to save the two occupants who, according to Emer-G-Med’s Martin Jeffrey, are alive but trapped in the wreckage.
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Jeffrey, who is on the scene, stated that accessing the site has proven exceptionally challenging due to adverse weather conditions and the high water levels of the nearby Crocodile River.
@lowvelder A dramatic accident occurred earlier today when an articulated truck plunged down a steep embankment, after ploughing through a barrier and descending into the dense terrain below. Rescue teams are now in a race against time to save the two occupants who, according to Emer-G-Med’s Martin Jeffrey, are alive but trapped in the wreckage. Jeffrey, who is on the scene, stated that accessing the site has proven exceptionally challenging due to adverse weather conditions and the high water levels of the nearby Crocodile River. As a result, rescue teams have been dispatched to undertake the rescue effort. He anticipates this to be a prolonged operation, estimating that the road will remain closed for at least four hours.#mbombela #accident #n4 #mpumalanga
As a result, rescue teams have been dispatched to undertake the rescue effort. He anticipates this to be a prolonged operation, estimating that the road will remain closed for at least four hours.
LINK TO LOCATION: 25°27’04.7″S 31°01’00.9″E
Adding to the already challenging circumstances, video footage captured at the scene shows bystanders stopping alongside the road to loot the truck’s cargo shortly after the incident, which included bags of beans and rice. Meanwhile, TRAC has confirmed that traffic is being diverted to alternative routes to accommodate the road closure.
Lowvelder journalists Tumelo Waga Dibakwane and Gia Radnai are on the scene and will update readers as the rescue unfolds.
> Photos: Supplied/Van Wettens
